Sustainable Energy Communities

Community Owned Energy

Imagine your Community as a place where you own and generate the power you need to live! Well now it is becoming a reality. There is a growing network of Communities across Europe who are creating Community Energy projects which see them owning and being actively involved in the running of an energy resource. Germany leads the way with an impressive 1,750 Community Energy Initiatives as of 2020.

Examples of Community Owned Energy can include wind turbines, farm roof solar, biomass installations and district heating networks.

Here in Ireland we have Communities who have been pioneering the way in Community Owned Energy Schemes for the last 15 years.

Templederry Wind Farm and The Aran Islands Energy Co-operative are hugely successful examples. (see links below).

New EU legislation on renewable energy gives communities and individuals the right to generate, store, consume and sell their own energy.

2019/2020 saw the government finally bring in key changes to legislation in line with EU Directives which will enable the Community Energy movement to really take off here (see link to EU report below). Citizens and communities now have new rights giving them access to energy markets. Auctions for these grid connections will be held year on year, on a phased basis. Demand for access to the grid will only increase, so if we are to benefit from these changes to legislation we need to be swift! Green Offaly in partnership with Community Power (see below) will be producing training webinars which will cover all aspects of Community Owned Energy online during 2021. In the meantime you can find out more about RESS (Renewable Energy Support Scheme) here and here.

‘OK, so we want to Produce and own our Power. Where do we begin?’

Green Offaly has a vision that sees Offaly become Ireland’s first Sustainable Energy County. This seems ambitious but it is possible. By working in partnership with Community Groups, the SEAI’s Sustainable Energy Communities Programme and Community Power we have a great opportunity to power Offaly into a Zero Carbon Future. We recommend that the first step on this journey is to form a Sustainable Energy Community in your area.

‘OK, so we want to Produce and own our Power. Where do we begin?’

The following information is provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority for Ireland – SEAI.

‘A Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) is a community in which everyone works together to develop a sustainable energy system for the benefit of the community. This is achieved by:

Aiming, as far as possible, to be energy efficient

Using renewable energy where feasible

Adopting smart energy solutions

The SEC network is made up of over 300 communities around Ireland who are interested in community energy. Some communities have been influencing local energy use for years, while others are thinking about it for the first time. The aim of the network is to encourage and support a national movement in every part of the country.’

Forming an SEC can seem daunting when you are setting out on your energy journey but the SEC mentor Laurence O’Reilly is on hand to guide you through the process. Green Offaly can put you in contact with other SEC’s in Offaly who are happy to help and answer questions.

"When we see the land as a community of which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

– Aldo Leopold

Why should we become an SEC?

Becoming an SEC opens up access to a toolbox of knowledge and financial support. This toolbox is essential if we are to make the transition to a renewable energy future in a way that benefits us, the Communities. The SEC journey is made up of stepping stones which are phased and manageable.

SEC STEPS

Bring different groups together to form a committee for your place and discuss where you would like to go – who will be responsible for the form filling etc.
Carry out an energy audit on your Communities Energy Use and a Competency Matrix – your mentor will help with these.
Apply for funding from the SEAI to undertake an Energy Master Plan with an expert Energy Consultant – your mentor can help you with this process.
The Energy Master Plan results in an Energy Road Map for your Community and a plan of action as to how you are going to achieve it. Here is where you can identify a significant energy project for your community.
The SEC network can then work with you as a Better Energy Community to make this project happen.

An SEC can include a range of different energy users in the community such as homeowners, sports clubs, community centres, local businesses and churches. In this way, an SEC connects sustainable energy, local economic development and public wellbeing. To find out more follow view SEAI’s Community Network and SEAI’s Sustainable Energy Handbook or contact Green Offaly.

Community Owned Energy - What options are available to us?

So you have decided that you would like your Community to own and operate its own energy source but where do you start? There are so many complexities to navigate and new terminology to digest and comprehend – not to mention financing the thing!

There are several different models of community ownership of energy in Europe. Denmark, where community ownership began, makes use of partnerships that for the most part operate according to cooperative principles. Germany’s primary model is more commercial in nature – a limited partnership with a developer’s limited liability company as general partner.

Green Offaly has carried out extensive research into Community Owned Energy Schemes. We have met with private developers who operate with a strong Community remit and we have met with inspirational Community groups who have been on the pioneering journey of installing and 100% owning their renewable energy schemes (Templederry Wind Farm and others – see below) We have asked questions and listened with an open mind. After weighing everything up we have a policy that Community Owned Energy Schemes should be, wherever possible, 100% Community Owned.

100% COMMUNITY OWNED ENERGY – THE WAY AHEAD!

There is no reason why Communities cannot own their own power! New government legislation (RESS – see link below) now allows Communities to bid for access to the grid. While the share is small (15 places allotted for Community Schemes per auction), it is set to grow. Luckily for us, some incredible Community Groups have been working away for the last 12 years, battling against legislation, planning and finance, pioneers in the field of community owned renewable energy! Now they have a wealth of experience and are very happy to share that hard won knowledge with our Communities as we embark on our own Offaly Energy journey.

Community Power - The Community Energy Pioneers!

Community Power is an amazing company! Imagine a group of people who are committed to helping Irish Communities become the owners and distributors of their own energy. The financial return generated from energy can be considerable and a 100% community owned scheme ensures that it all stays within your Community! In addition to this they now supply energy to homes and businesses in the way that your traditional electric companies do, but instead of private companies getting the profit from your electricity bills, the profit goes back to the Community to help fund other projects! The Circular Economy at its finest!

The following information has been kindly supplied by Community Power.

“Community Power is Ireland’s first community owned electricity supplier. We are a partnership of community energy groups working for a sustainable energy future for Ireland. We grew out of Ireland’s first community owned wind farm, Templederry Wind Farm in Co Tipperary, and now are working with Irish communities to develop more renewable energy projects owned by people!

It took us almost 12 years to build our first, and only wind farm, and it has been operating from the foothills of Slieve Feilim since 2016. Our two turbines are generating about 15 GWh of electricity every year, which is about the amount of electricity used by the town of Nenagh. Now we are buying renewably generated electricity from a handful of small and micro hydro and wind generators across Ireland and selling it to our customers to use in their homes, businesses, farms and community buildings.

Our mission is to support Ireland to run on clean, renewable power, but as if that’s not enough we also think people should also have a real stake in it, and own it for themselves. We recognise that Ireland’s energy system is in crisis, with over 90% reliance on climate polluting fossil fuels, but many people are struggling to pay high energy bills in cold homes. That’s why we are working to make sure the many benefits of generating renewable power are shared by the people and communities of Ireland.

We are grateful to be supported by some fantastic groups including the Tipperary Energy Agency, Friends of the Earth.

We are excited to be working with excellent community energy organisations, Energy Community Tipperary Co-operative, Aran Islands Energy Co-operative, Tait House Community Enterprise, Claremorris and Western District Energy Co-operative.

For more information call Community Power in Nenagh, Tipperary 067 56005.

If you are interested in changing your energy supplier to Community Power visit Community Power.

Speaking about Community Power, Paul Kenny, former CEO of Tipperary Energy Agency said, “Energy democracy is becoming a reality. Citizens and communities will have the opportunity to own the energy infrastructure that supplies their power. This effectively allows people to be energy ‘prosumers’, not only consuming energy, but actively participating in the energy market”.’ (extract taken from the Tipperary Energy Agency website).